Golf putting target



Jan. 18, 1949.

R. E. WATKINS 2,459,559

GOLF PUTTING TARGET Filed March 31, 1945 IN V EN TOR.

KIITO/P/YEVS Patented Jan. 18, 1949 UNITED STATES- PATENT OFFICE GOLF PUTTING TARGET Robert E. Watkins, Kansas City, Mo.

Application March 31, 1945, Serial No. 585,838-

1 Claim.

This invention relates: to a golf practice putting cup..and particularly to a device of .that'lcharactor which may be movediirom place to place for either indoor or outdoor use.

The principal objects of the present invention are to provide 2. putting cup wherein the cup may bemovedabout its: support to align the cup with theball being played; to provi'de .a device having at putting cup level with the surface on which the ball is rolled; to provide'a deuice that is easily moved from placeto place; to provide a device with indioia for registering the number of holes played yand toprovidea device simple and. economical to manu-iacture andone which will operate in. an emcien-t manner- In accomplishing these and other objects of invention I have provided. improved details or structure, "the. pnetenz'ed'siormsof which are illustrated'in. thelaccompanying drawing wherein;

Fig. 1 isa perspective. view of a goli practice putting cup. embodying::my invention.

Fig. 2 is a side view of the top portion of the post with parts broken away showing attachment of the dial indicator to the post.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional View of l the: base portion and putting. cu withpartof the post mounted in the base.

Fig. 4 is. a horizontal section on the line 4-4, Fig. 3, the base and cup portion being shown in plan.

Referring. morein detail. to the drawings:

1 designates a. golf practice: putting cup embodying the. .ieatures of my invention comprising a base: Zfcrsupporting apost or standard 3. The. base may be made; oi any suitable material, but I prefer to use a cast. iron material. to lend weight to the device so that it will remain in an upright position and not be easily toppled or become upset. The base may also be provided with a. recessed portion 4 to decrease the weight of the base if desired.

The support 2 is also provided with a central bore opening 5 adapted to receive the post 3, the post being slightly less in diameter than the opening 5 so that it may rotate freely therein. The support is preferably made the same size as the cup used on an ordinary golf course, and is flanged slightly outwardly at the base thereof as indicated at 6, Fig. 3, so as to provide a firm foundation for the device.

The support is provided with a fiat top portion 1, upon which a base plate 8 is adapted to seat for rotation as later described. The plate 8 is provided with an upstanding boss or collar 9 and isprovided with a central bore opening l0 con- 'iorming to' thebore opening din the support. The base plate 8 is secured to the post 3 by set screws or the like II to prevent rotation of the plate respect tothe post. The lower end' of the post 3 extends through the bore 5 in the support a short distance to receive a collar 12 which may may be attached thereto by a set screw Hi to retain the post to thesupport for transporting the same from place to place by lift on the post. The post Smay be made of any suitable material, but I preferably show a hollow tube to lend lightness to the device.

Carried by the base plate 8 is a cup- 14- preferably of U-shaped construction, having its inner portion rounded as indicated at E5, and conforming in diameter to the base portion! of the support so that when viewed by the player, the over-all diameter of the cup and base will conform in size to a regulation cup on -a golf course. The outer ends of the cup may be tapered" slightly as indicated at [6, and the extreme outer edges turned inwardly as indicated at I I, Fig. 4, to provide a rounded edge so that should the ball strike the edge, it Will not be damaged by the sharp corners of the cup. Attached to the rear outer 'face of the cup by rivets or the like I8 is a metal strip 1.9. to. lend. rigidity to the rear ofthe cup, and to which. an arm 20' may be attached in any suitable. manner- The arm is provided at its outer end with a slot 2! for a purpose presently described.

The plate 8 carried by the post 3 is provided with interally screw threaded bore openings 22 and 23, the bore opening 22 being adapted to receiveaset screw 24; and the bore opening 23 a thumb screw 215- for receiving the slotted arm 23 of the cup member for supporting said cup member on the base plate 8. The screws 24 and 25 may be inserted in their bore openings and the slotted end 2i of the arm 26 inserted under the heads of the screws and then the screws tightened to rigidly hold the cup member thereto. In actual practice the screw 22 will probably remain stationary and the slotted arm inserted thereunder, thus making it necessary to only tighten the thumb screw 25 in order to attach the cup member. It will be obvious, of course, that the cup member is removable and maybe disengaged from the screws merely by loosening of the thumb screw 25.

While I have shown the set screw arrangement for attaching the cup member to the base, it will be obvious that other means may be employed, such as a socket arranged on the base plate in which the arm may be inserted, or some other suitable means;

It will be noted that by providing the arm so that it extends slightly above the cup member, as indicated at 26, Fig. 3, the cup member will be held in place substantially on a level with the base plate, also as shown in Fig. 3.

The upper end of the post 3 is provided with an extension 21, preferably made of wood or other suitable material, having a knob 23 for ornamentation. The extension is provided with a shank 29 adapted to fit in the upper end of the tube 3 and heldin place therein by a screw 30. The extension is provided with a recess 3! for receiving a dial 32 carrying indicia 1 to 9, representing a nine-hole golf course. The dial is provided with a bore opening 33 adapted to receive a screw 34 for attachment of the dial to the extension 21'. A washer 35 may be inserted on the outerface of the dial so that the dial will rotate freely on the shank of the screw. The front face of the extension 21 carries an indicating arrow 36 above the dial for indicating the number of holes played upon rotation of the dial.

While I have here illustrated the support for my device as a cylindrical base member, it will be understood I do not wish to be limited to such a structure. If desired, the collar 52 could be provided with internal threads and a pin or peg having its upper end threaded to fit said collar attached thereto for outdoor use with or without the base portion of my device. Another obvious adaptation of the device would be to have the post 3 extending into the ground and merely have the cup member l4 attached thereto in any suitable Inanner so that the post could be rotated on the ground.

Assembly of the device constructed as described is as follows:

The base plate 8 is seated on the support 2 and the post 3 inserted through the bore opening ill of the base plate and the bore opening 5 of the support, the collar I2 is then attached to the lower end of the post to prevent removal of the post, and as the base plate 8 is secured to the post by the screws II, the post will be held in position to rotate freely on the support. The cup may be attached in place merely by inserting the arm 20 in the socket 2|. The device is then ready for use.

When the device is set in position for use either indoors or outdoors, the first ball may be placed in any suitable position and the cup aligned with the ball merely by turning the post 3. When the cup is aligned with the ball, the player then sights at the cup and if in striking the ball he misses the cup, the cup member may again be aligned with the ball without moving the ball merely by rotating the post, the base part remaining in the same position at all times. Should the ball go in the cup, the recording dial is turned to the numeral 2 to indicate the number of the hole being played. Of course, the strokes required for each hole may be kept by the individual player. The ball may then be placed at any suitable position to resume play for the neXt hole.

Generally, when stored the cup member will be removed from the socket to provide less space for storing, and also to prevent the cup member from getting bent or distorted. If desired, the post 3 could also be disassembled by removing the collar [2 from the base thereof.

It will be obvious from the foregoing that I have provided an improved golf practice putting cup which may be easily and quickly assembled and disassembled, and one adapted for indoor or outdoor play, and which has a cup member manipulatable to align with the ball without moving the ball during the play of the hole.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A practice golf putting cup comprising, a base having a central opening and a recessed bottom portion, a post extending through the central opening and rotatable therein, means engaging the lower end of the post for retaining the post in said opening, a plate having an upwardly extending boss adapted to engage the upper face of said base, said plate and boss having a central opening through which the post extends, means forrigidly securing the post to said boss so the post and plate will rotate together on said base, a cup member, and means mounting the cup member on said plate, said cup member extending to the side of the base substantially even therewith and adapted to be rotated around said base.

ROBERT E. WATKINS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Duganne May 19, 1936 

